External packaging and methods for safeguarding items during transportation are used in particular in the sphere of dispatching dangerous goods, for example dangerous goods from the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical or diagnostic industry, medical technology or other branches of industry. However, other fields of use are also possible.
In the daily routine of dispatching products, a multiplicity of products of identical or different type customarily have to be combined in order to dispatch the products by rail, road, sea or by air freight. This is typically undertaken using transport pallets, i.e., flat structures, on which the products are stacked. Transport pallets are customarily loaded onto transport using a lifting truck or forklift truck. In general, it is important in the case of such freight items that, when the transport pallets are being loaded onto the transport, the goods being transported are adequately protected against falling down, against damage or against the products escaping packaging. In the case of hazardous products, in particular what are referred to as dangerous goods, particularly exacting requirements have to be imposed in this case on the transportation safeguard.
In the case of previous transportation safeguarding techniques, the product is therefore first of all surrounded by one or more packaging materials, for example a carton, thus producing a “package”. Such packages are generally placed according to a predefined stacking plan onto a pallet as a carrier, for example a “Euro-pallet” or a “World-pallet” made of wood or plastic. Package layers which are not full are typically filled with empty packing material such as loading aids. The stack is subsequently wrapped with a film in order to form what is referred to as an overpack. In addition, a transportation safeguard, in particular against the packages falling down, generally has to be produced by strapping and/or bands. Furthermore, one or more edge protectors may be applied.
For external packagings which themselves comprise one or more packages with dangerous goods, special requirements are applicable in particular in the sphere of air freight. In particular, IATA (International Air Transport Association) specifications, section 5—“Packaging”, 5.0.1.5 are of relevance for overpacks, in which one or more packages with dangerous goods are combined to form a dispatch unit with appropriate identification. According to these specifications, the dispatcher when using an external packaging for surrounding a plurality of packages of dangerous goods has to ensure that various requirements are met. Neither packages that contain different substances, which may react in a hazardous manner with one another, nor packages with dangerous goods which must be separated may be contained within one external packaging. Furthermore, each package within an external packaging has to be correctly packed, labeled, identified and be without signs of damage or leakage. Certain requirements regarding the identification of the packages also have to be met, and the designated function of each package must not be impaired by the external packaging.
Current overpacks, in which one or more packages are combined as a transport unit and are secured for transportation, have a number of disadvantages. Current overpacks for safeguarding items during transportation generally require a fixed connection of the packages to a pallet as load carrier, for example in the form of strapping. Furthermore, the manual production of overpacks is labor-intensive and extremely costly with regard to the transportation expense, in particular in air freight. Irrespective of the weight of the packages, the weight resulting from the transport pallet as carrier, typically about 25 kg, also always has to be taken into consideration in the costs of the customary overpacks, which, per overpack unit, typically can cause increased costs of currently typically almost 70 Euros per dispatch unit. Furthermore, customary transport pallets are not only associated with a considerable weight but also with considerable material costs since, typically, transport circuits are not closed circuits and the transport pallets are generally not transported back to the freight starting point. A further disadvantage consists in that overpacks generally can be formed only over and above a certain number of dispatch items.
In addition to the overpacks described and in addition to the packaging material mentioned, there can be a multiplicity of packaging which basically could alternatively be used if they meet certain predefined guidelines and regulations. However, there is the technical requirement that packaging materials, after loading, have to be combined, for safeguarding during transportation, to form a transport unit, for example again in the form of known overpacks, with the requirements and disadvantages described above.